1MDB’s USD346m Suit Against Rosmah Set for 2027 Trial

KUALA LUMPUR, July 9 — The High Court has scheduled June 28, 2027, to commence the full trial of a massive civil lawsuit filed by 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) and 10 other corporations against Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor over the acquisition of luxury goods totaling more than USD346 million. The plaintiffs allege that these premium items were purchased utilizing siphoned and misappropriated funds from the sovereign wealth fund.

Rosmah’s defense lawyer, Datuk Seri Rajan Navaratnam, confirmed that newly appointed Judicial Commissioner Datuk Muhammad Adam @ Edward Abdullah fixed the extensive schedule yesterday during a case management hearing. The high-profile trial has been budgeted for 22 days, spanning across three specific blocks: June 28 to July 2, July 5 to July 9, and July 19 to July 30, 2027.

Interim legal maneuvers will take place much sooner.

“The court also fixed Sept 28 to hear the plaintiffs’ application to amend the writ of summons and also the application for a Mareva injunction,” Rajan said when contacted today.

A Mareva injunction is a temporary, far-reaching court order that would legally block the wife of disgraced former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak from transferring, selling, or disposing of any personal assets worth up to USD346 million—including cash bank accounts, corporate equity shares, real estate holdings, and other properties—pending the final disposal of the substantive lawsuit.

The sprawling litigation was originally brought on May 9, 2024, by a multi-company coalition consisting of 1MDB and 10 other entities. The group includes five immediate 1MDB subsidiaries, namely 1MDB Energy Holdings Limited, 1MDB Energy Limited, 1MDB Energy (Langat) Limited, Global Diversified Investment Company Limited, and SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Joining them as co-plaintiffs are several offshore and international entities: Affinity Equity International Partners Limited, Alsen Chance Holdings Limited, Blackrock Commodities (Global) Limited, Blackstone Asia Real Estate Partners Limited, and Brightstone Jewellery Limited.

The plaintiffs are seeking an explicit court directive ordering Rosmah to pay exactly USD346,010,489, or an alternative compensation sum determined appropriate by the bench. Furthermore, they are demanding a formal judicial declaration stating that the first six plaintiffs are the singular, rightful owners of the high-value luxury commodities currently alleged to be in Rosmah’s possession.

While the civil suit originally named Singaporean national Shabnam Naraindas Daswani as the second defendant alongside Rosmah, the corporate plaintiffs formally elected to withdraw all legal claims against Shabnam back in April 2025, leaving Rosmah to face the multimillion-dollar asset recovery suit alone.

-NMT